Editorial pubs.acs.org/JAFC
New Features and Expanded Coverage for Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
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ublishing in JAFC has never been more inviting. With ACS Publications Division support and the support of the Divisions of Agrochemicals and Agricultural and Food chemistry, in 2013 the Journal launched two Research Article of the Year awards, one slanted toward agrochemicals and the other toward food chemistry. It was difficult to decide on the winners, but with so many excellent candidates from 2012 published manuscripts two were chosen. In the Agrochemical category, award winners were John Grabber, Dino Ress, and John Ralph for “Identifying New Lignin Bioengineering Targets: Impact of Epicatechin, Quercetin Glycoside, and Gallate Derivatives on the Lignification and Fermentation of Maize Cell Walls” (J. Agric. Food Chem. 2012, 60 (20), 5152− 5160). In the Food Chemistry category, authors Caroline Hellfritsch, Anne Brockhoff, Frauke Stäh ler, Wolfgang Meyerhof, and Thomas Hofmann received the award for “Human Psychometric and Taste Receptor Responses to Steviol Glycosides” (J. Agric. Food Chem. 2012, 60 (27), 6782−6793). Both Research Articles of the Year were the topics of presentations made at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Indianapolis, by corresponding authors John Grabber and Thomas Hoffman (Figure 1).
new endeavors that is cross disciplinary in scope and can involve biotechnology, analytical chemistry, sensory science, toxicology, nutrition, and many other fields important to JAFC. As the Perspective states, “JAFC will limit the section on Targeted Metabolomics to those manuscripts that at least attempt to characterize the differing compounds in order to draw substantive conclusions, for example, on pathways or mechanisms of formation or modification.”1 Got something new and exciting that can be described in 2000 words and 4 graphics or less? Then check out the new Letters category launched in September 2013 and also described at the author guidelines link, above. Letters are being accepted that are brief, timely, and urgent. The first Letters submissions are undergoing peer review and are expected to be published as JAMs and ASAP soon. Two other JAFC categories have enjoyed significant growth in numbers of publications received and published in 2013. Reviews and Perspectives, both standing categories for several years, had their best years ever, with 10 Perspectives and 45 Reviews published as of this writing. Table 1 lists the Perspectives published in 2013. Our hats-off to the authors who responded to the call for manuscripts, or volunteered topics themselves, and to several of our Associate Editors (Russ Molyneux played a major role) and Managing Editor Matt Hotze for stimulating the pipeline in these two categories. We have also been active with new ACS Selects (formerly called Virtual Issues) covering the fields of gut microbiota and the health implications of nanotechnology in agricultural and food chemistry. Our guest editors for the Microbiota issue, Associate Editors Francisco Tomás-Barberán and Yoshinori Mine, worked with Managing Editor Matt Hotze to select manuscripts published during 2011−2013 that best represented the field from the JAFC perspective, and then worked with an international cadre of authors to publish additional new content on this topic. Similarly, Guest Editor Hongda Chen, National Program Leader for USDA-ARS, worked with editors from four ACS journals (JAFC, ACS Nano, ES&T, and ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering), to assemble a consensus choice of representative manuscripts published in the fast developing field of nanotechnology. This new ACS Selects will roll out soon. You can view all of the ACS Selects/Virtual Issues that JAFC has participated in at the JAFC Selects webpage (http:// pubs.acs.org/page/jafcau/vi/index.html) Continually refreshed with new science and new features, it is no surprise that JAFC retained its leadership as the most cited journal in three ISI categories, Agriculture, Applied Chemistry, and Food Science and Technology. The journal is blessed with an outstanding group of Associate Editors (Hanne Christine Bertram, Zhen-Yu Chen, John W. Finley, Chi-Tang Ho, Yoshinori Mine, Russell J. Molyneux, Peter
Figure 1. JAFC Managing Editor Matt Hotze (left) and Editor Jim Seiber (right) congratulate 2013 Research Article of the Year Lectureship awardees John Grabber (left middle) and Thomas Hofmann (right middle) during their lecture session at the Fall ACS National Meeting in Indianapolis in September 2013.
JAFC also launched a new category, Targeted Metabolomics Applied to Agriculture and Food (for details, see the author guidelines at http://pubs.acs.org/page/jafcau/ submission/authors.html). Associate Editors Peter Schieberle and Russ Molyneux and I will describe the new category in an upcoming Perspective (in process), which includes the prospects for this exciting new field and its many applications in agricultural and food chemistry. Metabolomics is one of the © 2014 American Chemical Society
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Indianapolis meeting (Figure 2.) Professor Shibamoto has identified Maillard browning reaction chemicals in several foods
Table 1. Perspectives Published in JAFC during 2013 Can an Increase in Celiac Disease Be Attributed to an Increase in the Gluten Content of Wheat as a Consequence of Wheat Breeding? D. D. Kasarda J. Agric. Food Chem. 61 (6), 1155−1159 Safety Assessment and Caloric Value of Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum J. W. Finley, A. Soto-Vaca, J. Heimbach, T. P. Rao, L. R. Juneja, J. Slavin, G. C. Fahey J. Agric. Food Chem. 61 (8), 1904−1913 Perspectives on Communicating Risks of Chemicals K. Armbrust, M. Burns, A. N. Crossan, D. A. Fischhoff, L. E. Hammond, J. J. Johnston, I. Kennedy, M. T. Rose, J. N. Seiber, K. Solomon J. Agric. Food Chem. 61 (20), 4676−4691 Methods for Comparing Data across Differently Designed Agronomic Studies: Examples of Different Meta-analysis Methods Used to Compare Relative Composition of Plant Foods Grown Using Organic or Conventional Production Methods and a Protocol for a Systematic Review ́ K. Brandt, D. Srednicka-Tober, M. Barański, R. Sanderson, C. Leifert, C. J. Seal J. Agric. Food Chem. 61 (30), 7173−7180 Compositional Analysis of GM Crops: Key Issues and Future Needs O. Hoekenga, J. Srinivasan, G. Barry, A. Bartholomaeus Special Issue: Safety of GM Crops: Compositional Analysis J. Agric. Food Chem. 61 (35), 8248−8253
Figure 2. Associate Editor Takayuki Shibamoto received the 2013 Award for the Advancement of Application of Agricultural and Food Chemistry from the Division of Agricultural and Food chemistry of ACS at the Indianapolis meeting.
A Look at Product Development with Genetically Modified Crops: Examples from Maize R. H. Mumm Special Issue: Safety of GM Crops: Compositional Analysis J. Agric. Food Chem. 61 (35), 8254−8259
and beverages. Recently, we had occasion to congratulate another strong supporter of JAFC, Lucy Sun Hwang, at a symposium held in her honor during the 2013 International Society for Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods (ISNFF) in Taipei, Taiwan, in November. Lucy has been a strong advocate for agricultural and food chemistry in Asia and worldwide (Figure 3). Also in 2013, I had the opportunity to serve as
Bringing a Transgenic Crop to Market: Where Compositional Analysis Fits L. S. Privalle, N. Gillikin, C. Wandelt Special Issue: Safety of GM Crops: Compositional Analysis J. Agric. Food Chem. 61 (35), 8260−8266 Unintended Compositional Changes in Genetically Modified (GM) Crops: 20 Years of Research R. A. Herman W. D. Price DOI: 10.1021/jf400135r Special Issue: Human Health and Transgenic Crops J. Agric. Food Chem. 61 (48), 11695−11701 Mapping the Scientific Research on Wine and Health (2001−2011) J. L. Aleixandre, J. L. Aleixandre-Tudo, M. Bolaños, R. Aleixandre-Benavent J. Agric. Food Chem. 61 (49), 11871−11880 Targeted Metabolomics, a New Section in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (JAFC) J. N. Seiber, R. J. Molyneux, P. Schieberle J. Agric. Food Chem. 61, DOI: 10.1021/jf4046254
Schieberle, Takayuki Shibamoto, Veronika Somoza, Francisco Tomás-Barberán, Elizabeth Waters, and Liangli (Lucy) Yu) and strong support from ACS Publications Division and the ACS technical divisions of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and Agrochemicals. We take this opportunity to congratulate Associate Editor Taka Shibamoto for receiving the Award for the Advancement of Application of Agricultural and Food Chemistry from the Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry of the ACS at the
Figure 3. The Journal salutes the distinguished Career of Professor Lucy Hwang (left middle) at the Annual Conference of the International Society For Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, held November 5−9, 2013, in Taipei, Taiwan. Associate Editors Chi-Tang Ho (right middle), who made the presentation on behalf of the Journal, Associate Editor Zhen-yu Chen (far right), and Advisory Board member Gow-Chen Yen (far left) are pictured. 2
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Thematic Chair for the ACS National Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the theme banner of “Energy and Food”. Almost half the divisions organized symposia within the theme. Associate Editor Peter Schieberle gave an excellent plenary address titled “Chemistry of food flavors: simply pleasure or beyond?”, and Associate Editor John Finley arranged a symposium on “The Interconnected World of Energy, Food and Water.” This was also a year filled with travel by several of us to attend international meetings on several continents. Some of the meetings we attended will culminate in manuscript clusters, cutting edge Research Articles or Letters, Perspectives, and Reviews published in issues of JAFC. It is important for the Journal to be represented at meetings such as these, where a broad cross section of new authors can be encouraged to publish their best work in JAFC. Over the past year we have had the opportunity to publish work presented at six meetings as symposium clusters in special issues Advances in Food Allergen Detection, IX Italian Congress of Food Chemistry, Florida Pesticide Residue Workshop 2012, Safety of GM Crops: Compositional Analysis, ISMR11 − 100 Years of the Maillard Reaction, and Human Health and Transgenic Crops. An upcoming meeting of particular note is the 13th IUPAC Congress of Pesticide ChemistryCrop, Environment, and Public Health Protection Technologies for a Changing World, to be cosponsored by IUPAC and ACS AGRO and held August 10−14, 2014, in San Francisco, California, in conjunction with the Fall National Meeting of the ACS. I look forward to seeing many of you at these meetings. On behalf of the JAFC team, our Associate Editors, Editorial Advisory Board members, ACS staff, and editorial assistants, I take this opportunity to thank all of our authors and reviewers (a list of our 2013 reviewers follows this editorial) and editorial staff who contributed to our successes in 2013. I extend our best wishes for a successful, healthy and prosperous 2014!
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Jim Seiber, Editor
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS.
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REFERENCES
(1) Seiber, J. N.; Molyneux, R. J.; Schieberle, P. Targeted metabolomics: a new section in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2013, DOI: 10.1021/jf4046254.
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